World Cup boosts temp jobs as cos see consumption jump

New Delhi: E-commerce firms, food delivery platforms and the hospitality companies have stepped up hiring of part-time workers, in anticipation of a consumption boom during the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup that is currently being held in India.

Staffing firm TeamLease expects the World Cup to generate over 100,000 additional jobs in the coming days, with demand especially high from food delivery firms, quick commerce platforms, mobility services as well hospitality firms that have laid out plans to capitalize on the tournament that is being played in India after a gap of 12 years.

India is hosting the 13th edition of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup that commenced on 5 October. In all, teams are set to play a total of 48 matches during the tournament that will end on 19 November.

“Large events like the World Cup lead to hiring in both core and ancillary sector. In this case, the ancillary sector would include hiring in hospitality, restaurant and cab sharing platforms which would have seen the spike. Also, this World Cup falls during the festive season which has e-commerce and retailers raising their gig workforce,” said Vijay Sivaram, CEO of Quess Staffing, a large recruitment firm.

In a note on the World Cup last week, analysts at Jefferies said the tournament along with the ongoing festive period will lead to an overall uptick in consumption. “On India match days, there should be a negative impact on footfall for movie theatres, theme parks and offline brick-and-mortar retailers. On the other hand, the event should provide boost to food delivery, quick commerce, alcobev, soft drinks, media, online gaming, etc. We expect companies to run World Cup-specific promotions on match days to tap this consumption boost,” it said.

Quick commerce firm Zepto is anticipating a surge in orders, and has hired to meet the expected demand. Food delivery firm Swiggy did not comment on World Cup specific hiring.

Same-day delivery platform Zippee that works with consumer brands such as Epigamia, Sepoy & Co. and Haagen Daaz said the company has increased last-mile access, keeping in mind the surge in demand for in-home orders. The company operates dark stores in various cities from where it fulfils demands for brands. “Yes; we ourselves have increased our last-mile muscle to manage the surge,” said Madhav Kasturia, founder, Zippee.

Balasubramanian A., vice-president & business head, TeamLease Services said he expects the tournament to create an additional 100,000 jobs over a 45-60 day period.

“This will be led by food aggregators for sure. Secondly, in cities where matches are taking place, hospitality as a whole will see a spike in demand for staff. On all match days nationally, you will a spike in food ordering; that aside, a lot of food establishments are using this World Cup to attract footfalls at their restaurants and that will lead to additional hiring too. In fact, we expect a spike in mobility services too with a demand for drivers etc. as people move around to watch the matches,” he said.

However, Balasubramanian said companies are struggling to hire quality workers as the tournament is also coinciding with the festive season in India. Large e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart are currently running their festive season offers which also drive up demand for last mile workers.

“It’s a bigger struggle in the southern cities than in the north. Western part of India is of a moderate struggle,” he said.